Men’s soccer season preview
Photo by highpointpanthers.com
By Brooke Lazarus// Staff Writer
After losing in the Big South conference finals last season, High Point University’s men’s soccer team is back and better than ever. The Panthers returned 13 players from the 2015 team that finished 8-6-7 overall. HPU has also welcomed a class of 17 newcomers that include three transfers, two redshirt-freshmen and 12 freshmen.
Heading into the 2016 season, the men hope to continue to improve. On Aug. 20, they lost to Appalachian State during an exhibition match after playing with a man down in the second half. On Aug. 26, they had a huge 5-1 win over ETSU with freshmen Siggi Benonysson scoring two goals and an assist. The men still have a long journey ahead of them as they look to improve each week. The men lost some key players last year, but Coach EJ O’Keefe doesn’t seem to be concerned.
“The season has started well and the new guys are starting to understand what is required of this program,” O’Keefe said. “It feels good starting the season 1-0 but there is still a lot of work to be done in order to achieve our goals.”
Sophomore Johnny Fenwich and redshirt senior, Erien Campbell, look to lead the defense this season. With new faces entering the midfield, leaders Renato Punyed and Pat Shelton look to guide the midfield in the right direction. The returners have a lot on their plate this season, showing the newcomers the ropes.
“Coming into this season, the team is filled with youth and many new faces,” Shelton said. “However, we have the ability to become a great team with our talent pool. It is always nice to start the season with a win, but work still needs to be done. We have a long way to go to reach our goals and become as good as we know we can be.”
Redshirt sophomore Justen Shear is looking to make an impact in the attack as well as returning goal scorer Chris Ramsell. Iceland native Siggi Benonysson is expected to make a huge impact on the front line as he has the first couple games. Benonysson has already received the Freshmen of the Week award as well as HPU’s Athlete of the Week award.
“It’s still early, but the season so far is going well,” Shear said. “We had great challenges in the two exhibition games and got a great result in the season opener. We are young but very excited and have depth in all positions. We want to go as far as possible, and with the talent we have, I truly believe we can be a national championship team. But our motto is “live in the present” and it really goes a long way. If we just focus on the today, we will not lose focus or look too far ahead.”
The men continue non-conference play on Sept. 10 against Loyola in Maryland. The men hope they can make history this year and make a run in the NCAA tournament.